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Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Transportation and facilities

On another post Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Coaches and looping":

"Where did the non-returning kids go? Parents are looking at options for 8th graders moving on to ninth and I feel strongly that the transportation system here is a serious drawback to promoting attending a magnet. Some neighborhoods are located in transportation friendly communities. South Side is one area where public transportation seems to be above average, but other southern neighborhoods provide fewer options. It would be interesting to see how many students getting bus passes to attend a high school magnet actually use the pass everyday. My informal polling tells me more kids get rides from parents and others than you might expect. This indicates a situation where students getting less support from home have options that require real dedication and desire on their part."

- 17 went to other Pittsburgh public high schools including 6 to Peabody and 5 to Brashear.

- 7 went to the Student Achievement Center or CEP

- 5 went to charter schools

- 3 went to private schools

- 1 moved out of state

- 19 are "inactive". It would include students who dropped out or moved out of the district or whose whereabouts are just unknown.

As for magnets, transportation does seem to be a huge issue. While people filling out forms may say "Kids can travel up to 45 minutes for a magnet program" in reality it would have to be one awesome program. Due to bus schedules you are probably looking at a kid leaving the house at about 6:30 am including in the cold, rain and ice, carrying a heavy bookbag and sometimes oversized projects and with pretty severe penalties for being late. In reality it's probably not something most would try without a parent with a car as backup. Central locations can help cut down travel hassles.

1 comment:

Speaking of travel some have mentioned that it would not be easy for students from the Oliver area to get to Langley. But the Board has already authorized $1M in architectural fees to begin work on Langley.